Table-mat.



HALL, Cizen of the to be placed on nop 19 h@ surface of the ita-bie m"heavy artiles placa; 'da main objaea @itin 1' 'vewtion a. mat which CM1imno p ss m can ol- .L l5 as @o @regel s nothe object uf #ne nvenfian is"zo plus# vde dl'ng mat which cfm b@ fe d @philly wel." 111 @ber cwecon.2f!) A funi @meet of e luventlom 3s @LQ T. 's zzccam my mvenuon, andreferring figue l is pian vie-Y; compete ma in fiat o1 exteuel pns l10non a crcuar f 9, is a. side el@ ation of the *ivaba is a section @n 35in Fig l. is an and View @il me mai m :Edited p @ver mijn er l,

"'cd C h@ mns in contac 'hexe- D 01" Shad. S eli L 1 1 f. u bencxsnenenzh 'd number 2 an@ beneath the hi a and then up and down in 'shafemm Gf a E@ p 10 nehmen saic hinge-strip B uu h@ member l, and thanunderneah the member l, said hinge-@ f en" Sheet 9 being Secured byghluor Ohez Wise the botsm faces of the members l, 8 and E2, auf?. imthe opposing edge faces of Y memhes El. and 8 ai; the 'loop portion 10.The hinge aps or sheets 9 above described frfa mi; suimh flexiblemaieraLjO L7 iong i may extend the full length of the hingejoint betweenthe members 1 and 2 or only a portion or portions of such length.

In order to draw the several members of the mat closely together to makea substantially continuous surface, I provide spring means 12consisting, for example, of a helical spring located within a channel 13formed at each end of the member 1, and being connected by cords 14 atits ends to the respective members 2. The grooves 13 may be formed inthe member 1 by removing or omitting from the edge portions thereof thecentral sheet or core member 7 and similar channels may be formed in themembers 2 for receiving the tension cords 14 aforesaid. 'Straps 15 areprovided over these grooves for retaining the cords when the mat membersare bent at the joint. Said cords may be secured to the spring and tothe members 2 in any suitable manner, for example, they may be loopedthrough the spring near the ends thereof, and fastened to the members 2by clips 11. A suitable protective and cushioning covering 16 of cottonfelt or other soft material is preferably provided as a facing for theedges and bottom of the mat, said material being pasted Ior otherwisesecured to the members 1 and 2, and to the lower hingeflaps 9, so as tofold'at the hinges within said hinge flaps. The to of the mat is coveredwith a waterproo sheet 17 of oil- `cloth or other suitable materialpasted to the top of the members 1 and 2 and to the upper hinge flaps 9,and extending down between the said members and the interlmediatehinge-strips 8,in a loop to form a hinge upon which said members swing.

t@ The sheet 17 forms a continuous uncut waterproof surface over theentire semicircular mat and provides a waterproof hinge which enablesthe members to fold in either direction, this sheet folding within theupper hinges. These upper and lower cover sheets also serve as hinges,the hinge-flaps 9 simply reinforcing the hinge action of these sheets.This waterproof top 17 preferably extends beyond the inner or straightedge of the members 1 and 2 as shown at 18 in Figs. 1 and 2, so as tooverlapthe adjacent edge portion of the other half of the circular mat,and this overlapping flap 18 is cut as at 18 to enable the ap to befolded flat, when the mat is extended as shown in Fig. 11, and to enablesaid Hap to lie 'fiat on said other half of the circular mat.

When the mat is placed on the table the ,several members thereof occupythe positions shown in Figs. 3 and .7, all of the members 1, 2 and 8lying flat on the table with ,the hinge-loops 10 at one side of themembers 8 extending downwardly from the top and the binge-loops at theother side -members 2 may be folded respectively on .top of and beneaththe central member 1,

the hinge joint above described permitting either of the end members 2to be folded on top and the other of said members 2' tol be foldedbeneath the ember l, so that the person folding the maltncan not damagethe same by inadvertently folding it in the Wrong direction. Theintermediate hinge strip 8 may be provided with keepers or staples 8embracing the spring cord 14 to hold it from slipping oif the strip whenthe hinge is bent.

It will be understood that the mat may have any desired number `ofsections or members and that the shape of these members may be variedaccording to the shape of the surface it is desired to cover.

As shown in Fig. 13, the intermediate wooden strip 8 may be omitted, theportion or strip 20 of the hinge and cover fabrics between the matmembers 21 and 22 being connected at the upper edge thereof to themember 21 and at the lower edge thereof to the member 22, so that infolding the' member 22 over the member 21, said members hinge on thejunction of the upper edge of this hinge stripv 20 with member 2l and infolding them 1n the reverse direction they hinge on the junction of saidstrip with the lower mat member.

. What I claim is:

In combination, central and wing members each formed of upper and lowersheets, a hinge-strip extending between said Icentral and wing members,hinge-aps secured to the central and wing members, one hinge- Hapextending on top of the wing member near the hinged edge thereof andextending in a loop down between the hinge-strip and wing member andextending over the hinge-strip and over adjacent portions of the centralmember, said hinge-flap being fastened to the top faces of the centraland rwing members and to the top face of the hinge-strip, the otherhinge-nap extending beneath the wing member and beneath the hinge-stripand extending in a loop between the hinge-strip and central member andextending underneath the central member, and said other hinge-Hap beingfastened to the bottom faces of the central and Lemos@ f@ the inneiadjacent edges 'of the central and wingmembers so astooverlap theadjacent edge portion of'other similarly constructed central and Wingmat, membersv and the overlapping flap being cui; to enable it to befolded fiat when the mat is extended and 1ro enable said flap to lie Haton saidv other similarly constructed met members.

En testimony whereo, l have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles,California this 1o 15th day of December, 19l3.

ELBERT V. MENDENHALL.

In presence of- ARTHUR P. KNIGHT,

LoRRANE E. DURROW.

